Rene Godefroy has a passion for empowering others to excel and succeed. His personal story of struggle, grit and perseverance epitomize triumph and the American dream.

Born in a tiny, isolated village on the island of Haiti, Rene was an impoverished child tormented by extended illness. Abandoned by his father and left behind while his mother sought work in the city, he survived primarily on breadfruit and the occasional rare fish he caught with a string and hook.

Unable to speak English, Rene arrived in America with just five dollars, two shirts and one pair of pants housed in a tattered briefcase. Where many would see nothing but overwhelming odds stacked against them, he saw an abundance of opportunity and a chance to pursue the American dream.

CNN Analyst Roland Martin revealed, during an Obama Inaugural Ball, that he is Haitian on his mother's side.

Roland S. Martin was born in Houston Texas. Roland Martin is an American journalist and syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate, radio talk show host, and author of the Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America.